Better Than Okay (3 page)

“Are you serious?” she asked, facing him again. They’d reached the
elevators and he hit the down button.

 
“Yep,” he smiled as
the doors dinged open.

They stepped inside and he leaned against the back wall.

“Does Dorian know?”

She was so excited she could barely contain herself. Brian was
like family to her and Dorian and it seemed like forever since they had all
three lived in the same state. Even though they usually hung out the entire
time when she and Dorian went home for the holidays and Brian had come to visit
them in Miami quite a few times, it wasn’t the same as actually being in the
same place together all of the time.

“Yeah, I called him after they offered me the gig. I’m actually
gonna stay with him for a while.” Destiny wasn’t surprised. Dorian had a spare
bedroom and it definitely made sense since the cost of living was ridiculously
expensive there.
 

“So, when do you move?”

The elevators opened and they stepped out making their way around
the corner to the busy lobby.

“In a week.”

“A week?” she repeated loudly, stopping in her tracks.

This time she didn’t bother to look around, the noise from the
lobby was drowning her out anyway.

“Yeah, it all happened really quick.”

She shook her head, in shock. Gleeful shock, but shock
nevertheless.

“This is gonna be so dope,” she said, practically skipping toward
the exit.

“It is,” he said grinning again, as they stepped out into the
sunlight and heat.

*
* *

They walked leisurely down St. Charles, despite the overwhelming
humidity and strangely intoxicating smell of fish and…
coffee
?

“It smells kind of weird here,” she observed, glancing at Brian.

He nodded in agreement grinning. “Think that’s part of the charm
though,” he said.

She wrinkled her nose took another sip of her icy lemonade and
vodka and concentrated on not tripping on the cobblestoned walkway. She was
already buzzed. Raven, her best friend and old college roommate, would be
proud. Brian had insisted they have a mid-afternoon celebration cocktail and
even though she’d only had coffee for breakfast and was practically starving,
she couldn’t resist his request. She pushed her sunglasses up on her nose and
took another sip.

“I really wasn’t supposed to start drinking until after the show,”
she told Brian for the third time. “But this is so good.”

“You’re such a lightweight,” he teased, glancing over at her. He
took a sip of his own drink and grinned. “We’ll get some food in you. What do
you feel like?”

She shrugged and stumbled a bit. Brian put a hand on her back to
steady her and held back a grin.

“Really, Tweet? Are you really that buzzed already?” he asked with
amusement, eyeing her half-full drink.

She glared at him behind her sunglasses.

 
“I’m not gonna be
babysitting you, so you better slow down,” he said, eyeing her as she took
another long sip.

“When have I ever needed you to babysit me?” she retorted,
frowning.

“Do I need to remind you of the freshman homecoming incident?” he
asked, staring at her pointedly.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. She was never going to live that
down. He’d flown down for FAMU’s homecoming her freshman year and she’d
insisted she could keep up with him and Dorian and the endless tequila shots
they’d downed before heading to a campus party. She was wrong. Brian had stayed
with her and missed the party as she’d hurled repeatedly throughout the night,
positive that she was going to die.

“Must you bring that up on every occasion?” she asked indignantly,
pushing her sunglasses up.

“Yes,” he teased her. “That shit was pretty ridiculous.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re the one who kept shoving tequila shots down
my throat.”

He laughed shaking his head in denial.

“Nah, Tweety, you need to refresh your memory. You thought you
could hang with me and D just because you were a freshman in college. ‘
Give me another shot, Brian, I can handle
it…’
” He said, making his voice high as he mimicked her.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re one who insisted I
celebrate with you today, so you don’t get to bring up the past,” she said,
concentrating on not tripping again as she walked so he wouldn’t have another
reason to tease her.

He laughed. “Right, you’re celebrating with me, so no shit
talking.”
 

“Then stop saying shit to make me talk shit,” she retorted
quickly.

He chuckled and grabbed her hand and pulled her to the opposite
side of the street. She brushed by a couple walking by in the opposite direction
dressed in matching t-shirts and oversized yellow and pink sombreros.

“There’s a little seafood restaurant right up here that smelled
pretty good when I passed by earlier,” he told her, pointing down the street.

Her stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He didn’t release her
hand and she let him drag her along, careful not to bump into anyone on the
crowded street.

“Right here,” he said as they approached the restaurant.

They threw their drinks in the trashcan outside of the door and he
guided her in front of him and put his hand on the small of her back, ushering
her through the doorway as he held the door open for her. He was right; it
smelled like seafood heaven. It was a medium-sized space, and the bistro tables
that decorated the restaurant all had framed postcards of New Orleans landmarks
sitting in the middle of them. Huge, nearly wall-length paintings of jazz
musicians decorated the eggshell colored walls. Some of them, like Dizzy
Gillespie and Thelonious Monk she knew, but there were quite a few she didn’t
recognize. She squinted at them, intrigued.

“You know who that is?” she asked nodding her head toward the
painting that seemed to pop out more than the others. The player was holding a
saxophone and his hat was tilted down, his eyes fierce and concentrated.

Brian eyed the painting for a second.

“Sonny Rollins,” he answered. “He played with…”

“Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, and Dizzy and is most widely known
for his songs ‘St. Thomas’ and ‘Oleo’,” she supplied as he stared at her.

“You sound like a Wikipedia Page. If you knew all of that then why
didn’t you know what he looked like?”

She shrugged. “I never Googled to see his face. I just listen to
the music, dork.”

He grabbed her by the waist and dragged her to him, tickling her
sides. “I’m tired of your constant name-calling,” he teased, his voice low in
her ear, as she squealed and struggled to get out of his arms, laughing loudly.

“Table for two?” the hostess suddenly asked Brian politely,
causing him to finally release her.

Destiny straightened her hair with her fingers and watched the
short-haired blonde’s gaze roam over Brian’s face and chest before she looked
away quickly and regained her composure. His presence all but demanded
attention, even though there was nothing boastful or cocky about him.

“Yep,” Brian said, flashing her a quick smile.

The girl turned bright red and tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Right over here,” she managed, leading them to the right of the
hostess station.

She stopped abruptly and Destiny almost rammed into her back.
Brian did run into Destiny, grabbing her at the waist to keep her from falling
forward.

“You alright?” he asked her quietly so the frazzled hostess
couldn’t hear.

His breath was warm in her ear and her back was pressed into his
chest. She turned her head to look up at him and nodded quickly.

 
“I mean this way, I’m
so sorry,” the hostess was saying, shaking her head and pointing them in the
opposite direction.

The hostess’ blush deepened to crimson and Brian grinned
disarmingly at her again.

“No worries,” he said easily, keeping a hand on Destiny’s waist as
he guided her to follow the hostess.

She led them to a table that was situated next to a large window
that overlooked the bustling street. A wall length painting of Charlie Parker
was hanging to the right of it.

“Busy morning?” Brian asked amicably.

“No,” the girl stammered quickly. “Well, I mean, yes. Well, kind
of.”
 

She blushed again.
 

Good Lord, Destiny thought, suppressing a laugh. She was used to
women fawning all over both Dorian and Brian but this poor girl clearly needed
to go back to her station before she had an aneurism.

 
“India will be your
waitress and she’ll be with you shortly.”

“Thanks,” Brian said, pulling Destiny’s chair back so she could
sit down.

“Sure,” she managed as he sat down in his own chair. She smiled
again. Destiny bit her lip and looked up at her, furrowing her brow. She was
still just standing there, grinning dumbly at Brian. What was wrong with this
girl? She glanced over at Brian. His eyes were amused.

“Thanks again,” he said deliberately.
 

“Oh!” the girl nearly exclaimed, breaking out of her trance,
turning red again. “Sure. Thank you.”

She rushed away. Destiny rolled her eyes and shook her head,
glancing at Brian.

“Do you ever get tired of women acting like that around you?” she
wondered aloud. She hung her bag over the back of her chair.

“Like what?” he asked, innocently, even though he clearly knew
what she was talking about.

She rolled her eyes. “Like they can’t control themselves.”

He smiled at her and picked up his menu. “Guess it depends on who
it is,” he shrugged, looking up to meet her eyes. He held her gaze for a
minute. She shifted in her chair and bit her lip, then looked down, studying
her own menu.

“What looks good?” she asked, changing the subject.

She was having a hard time reading his expressions again and it
was bugging her more than usual. He stared at her for a second longer before he
finally looked down at the menu.

“The shrimp po’boy,” he said after a long second.

On cue, the waitress appeared smiling at them.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head enthusiastically, “The shrimp
po’boy is delicious.”

Her words came out slowly, weighed down by her thick Cajun accent.

“Okay, I think I’ll try that,” he said, unleashing another one of
his disarming grins. Destiny never remembered him flirting so much with random
women before. She studied her menu and concentrated on the items listed there.

“What’ll it be for you, honey?”

“I think, I’ll have…” she hesitated for a long second, scanning
the menu again. She always had trouble deciding what to get at new restaurants.
“Sorry for taking forever,” she apologized, glancing up at her.

“I’m in no rush, honey,” she smiled. “Why don’t you try what your
boyfriend here is having?”

Destiny’s eyes flew to Brian, who was smirking.

“We’re just friends,” she corrected her, blushing. The waitress
raised her eyebrows in surprise. She glanced at Brian then back to Destiny.

“Why are you denying our love, baby?” he asked, playfully, causing
her cheeks to heat and the waitress to laugh. “I’m hurt.”

Destiny glared at him, and he closed his mouth, shrugging as he
exchanged a look with the jovial waitress. She bit her lip and studied her
menu, growing agitated, although she didn’t know why. It wasn’t the first time
that someone mistook them for a couple, or that Brian made a joke of it.

“Okay,” she finally decided, mostly so that India
would stop smiling at her like she was some clueless little girl. “I’ll go with
that too.”

 
“And to drink?”

“Lemonade for both of us,” Brian quickly answered because he knew
it was what she always ordered.

The waitress jotted it down on her pad then smiled and winked at
Brian before sauntering off.
 
Destiny frowned and bit her lip.

“What’s up with you?” Brian asked, looking at her. His brow
wrinkled slightly as he studied her face. “You seem irritable all of a sudden.”

“I’m not,” she quickly countered, although the fact that he was
always able to read her so well was irritating in itself.

 
It was killing her
buzz and she released a breath. She glanced over at the young couple sitting at
the table next to them. The guy kept calling the girl “boo.” She scowled and
shook her head.

“What?” Brian asked again, glancing over at the couple quickly before
looking back to her.

“I hate it when guys say ‘boo’,” she said, wrinkling her face in
distaste. “It’s so cornball-ish.”